


Child of the great salt lake

by Dhole



Series: Semper Fidelis - Always loyal. [1]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Caesar's Legion, Character Development, Gen, Pre-New Vegas, a family can be a mormon an anthropologist and a baby they found in the lake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-03
Updated: 2017-05-03
Packaged: 2018-10-27 10:21:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10807146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dhole/pseuds/Dhole
Summary: Young Dead Sea doesn't know his origins. All he knows is that he adores Caesar, Joshua and his extended family (The Legion.).  So Joshua tells him the story of the day they met Dead Sea.





	1. Chapter 1

A large Gila monster crawled its way across the hot burned earth. The spots that peppered its back provided perfect camouflage, against both predator and unsuspecting prey. Though this creature was not on the hunt today, Instead it was seeking shelter as the sun would soon be hitting its highest peak. Soon Arizona would be unbearable for most ground dwelling wildlife. Unfortunately for the reptile, it wasn't going to be finding its much needed shelter just now.

Boots thundered after the creature, accompanied by excited giggling . A single, small, child chased after the creature, calling for it to come back and play. He had blonde hair, blue eyes and looked roughly four years old in age. He was missing two of his baby teeth already (knocked out from rough and tumble).

“Wait, come back!” The young boy cried, stick in hand as he chased after the Gila monster. He was named Dead Sea, though the young boy had no clue he had such a dark, foreboding name. It was simply his name, given to him by the very man who saved him. “Come back mister lizard!” Dead Sea called again, just as the lizard began squeezing its large bulky body in-between two boulders. It popped through, to safety, away from the this irritating, loud beast chasing it down.

Dead Sea fell to his scraped-up knees, peering into the dark crevice to try and locate his reptilian playmate. The young child looked at his hand, then mentally measured up if he'd be able to get his hand in there, retrieve the lizard safely, while still keeping his hand untrapped. Who cared! He wanted the lizard to come back! He shoved his small hand into the same place the lizard retreated, scrabbling around trying to feel for a set of scaly legs, or a long tail.

“Oooh lizard where are you-”

There was a sudden, sharp and intense pain, shooting up the boy's arm and causing him to yank it out of the rock formation while screaming in pain. Tears streamed down his red cheeks as his little arm throbbed in pulsing agony. There were two puncture wounds in the boy's arm, twin streams of blood seeping out of each bite. He sobbed and sniffled, shaking fearfully at what would happen to him. He'd never been hurt this badly before, and this pain frightened the child. Would he die? Was he going to die? The very thought of death sent a shiver down his spine as he cradled his throbbing arm.

As little Dead Sea sobbed, a shadow fell over him. The child slowly craned his head, another pitiful sniffle escaping him. There, towering above him, stood the Malpais Legate, Joshua Graham. Dead Sea choked back another sob, feeling slightly ashamed to be seen in such a state by one of his father figures. The man said nothing, simply kneeling down in utter silence and scooping up the bawling child and holding him over his shoulder. Intending to take him back to the legion encampment he had strayed from.

 

* * *

 

Graham strode through the camp. His very presence was enough to stop grappling between recruits, force a lazy centurion from his seat and gain a salute from every man they passed. Dead Sea expected to be dropped off with one the veterans leaving the camp, to be taken back to the women of Flagstaff. They were the priestesses. The priestesses had the role of raising the children of the legion until they reached the age of 10 as that was the age their training would fully begin. Instead, Joshua took him right into the largest tent in the encampment.

Caesar’s.

“Caesar?” The legate called, expecting to see the man standing there at his desk, organising his group's next movements. “He’s not here...” The man growled to himself. Joshua looked around, scouting for a suitable place to set down the bawling child against his shoulder. The child was doing a fantastic job at soaking his SLCPD vest.

In the end, Joshua opted to set Dead Sea down on Caesar’s queen sized bed, which was located at the far end of his impressive tent. Overlooking all the desks and tables which contained his and Joshua’s paperwork and plans. The next step was treating Dead’s arm. The bite didn’t look too nasty, but the swelling on the child’s forearm indicated he was bitten by something venomous. That definitely needed seeing to.

First things first. Joshua hunted down a med kit, saying nothing as he pulled one from under the bed. Unlatching the locks, the contents were spilled out onto Caesar’s bed. He returned to the sniffling child, bottle of purified water in one hand and another solution inside another bottle and a relatively clean piece of cloth.

“Give me your sore arm.” the legate instructed, letting the whimpering child place the throbbing appendage into his hand. He began washing the blood off first, remaining deathly silent in concentration. Once the blood was gone, he immediately started rubbing the solution into the bite wounds. It made the boy whine: it stung and felt tingly. “This is an anti-venom, it'll stop the swelling you will feel much better,” He assured the boy, gently ruffling his hair as he finished off applying the last of the anti venom. “There, let's get this wrapped up.”

The last of the bandages were tightly shrouded on the young one's arm, secured tightly with a safety pin AND then Joshua created a makeshift sling to prevent Dead Sea from moving it about too much. He would have to keep the boy close for a few days, keep him out of trouble.

“May I leave now Mister Graham?” The young blonde asked, slowly shifting himself from the bed.

The legate shook his head.

“No. You'll stay with me today, Dead Sea,” He explained, raising his brows which stopped Dead Sea from trotting any further away. The child returned to his side, trying to heave himself back onto the bed to re-join his adoptive parent’s side. Joshua had to intervene when the boy pouted at his inability to get up again, taking him under the arms and lifting Dead Sea back onto the bed.

“Joshua? I’m bored ~” came a whine only five minutes later. The legate had hardly moved three feet from the bed. With a sigh, Joshua returned his gaze to the child. Dead Sea kicked his little legs idly, pouting at Joshua.

He returned to Dead Sea, setting himself down beside the child.

“Do you know why we named you ‘Dead Sea’?” He asked the youth, who shook his head in response.

“Nu ah.”

Joshua responded by rising from the bed and briefly scouring Caesar’s tent, searching for something. He kicked open a footlocker that he hoped contained what he was looking for.

Success. There, all crammed tightly together were the young boy’s toys. Joshua’s hand hovered over the collection, trying to decipher which one to take to his child. He soon pulled out a limp looking crocodile plush, which he had seen Dead Sea trail around pretty often.

“Edward you should let the boy have easier access to his things," The man muttered as he made his way around the bed and back to Dead Sea’s side.

“What, Mister Graham?”

“Nothing,” He stated, settling down and handed the plush over to Dead Sea. Delighted to see his favourite teddy, Dead squeezed the plush tightly. “I’ll tell you a story, Dead Sea,” Joshua said, pulling Dead Sea onto his lap.

“What kind of story?”

“A special one. The story of how Caesar and I found you.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ( This is a flashback to 2255. )

_The shores of the great lake lap over the hooves of the horse that carry the newly self-proclaimed son of Mars. A divine beast, carrying a far more divine individual. By his side, his trusted Legate, Joshua. They travel in a small group, six primes in freshly scavenged armour. The primes are lead by a single veteran with jet black hair and sporting rough facial stubble. Lucius, Caesar christened him when accepting him into his new legion._

_Caesar's horse balked at the path ahead. Nostrils flared and ears pricked, it snorted, clearly smelling trouble. It refused to move another step with Caesar on its back._

“ _The beast senses trouble,” Caesar stated calmly, scratching above the eye socket of the horse. The salt lake seemed calm, but Caesar knew better than to trust calm, for a storm would soon follow. The legionaries followed Caesar's suit, unclipping the reins and leading the horses by foot._

_As expected, Joshua knelt down when he spotted red splatters dotted across the sands. Blood._

“ _Fresh,” He stated, showing the blonde man who knelt beside him to inspect further._

“ _...The work of the white legs no doubt.” Caesar said with a small yawn. If the White Legs wished to pillage and marauder useless and pacifist tribes, then so be it. “We should press on. They may still be close. The last thing I need is a skirmish with barbarians.”_

 

_The ground beneath the legion began to prove problematic for the horses, their hooves sinking into the treacherous sand. After nearly 10 minutes of faffing and struggling, Caesar lost his temper with the horses. His men couldn’t get them to walk on any further._

_“Just leave them here!-“_

 

 

> “Joshua?”
> 
> Graham looked down, admittedly startled by the child’s interruption.
> 
> “Yes?”
> 
> “Was one of those horseies Nero?”
> 
> “Excuse me?”
> 
> “Nero! Caesar’s big horse!”
> 
> “Oh...Yes it was actually. Clever boy. Now, where was I? Ah right...”

 

_“Leave them!” Caesar barked. On queue, the horses reins where dropped instantly. The beasts wouldn’t be left alone of course. Horses were too much a rarity to just leave them in the open. Caesar commanded two of his legionaries to stay as he and the remainder pressed on._

_The lake stretched on for miles. Soon all the salt crystal formations began to look the same._

_If they had not been walking straight on, they’d have felt like they had just been traveling in one big circle. Stench of decay soon began to fill the air, the majority of the party withstood it. Though the youngest of the primes couldn’t help but press his nostrils shut._

_“It’s not uncommon for tribes to leave their new born here,” Joshua explained quietly. “If they suspect the infant will not survive, or has some kind of ailment.. They may leave it to perish. The New Canaanites and I tried to break this the last time we were here.”_

_Joshua sighed, clearly their endeavours had been in vain. Caesar muttered something of similar effect, more along the lines of “Waste of your damned time then.”_

_The legate sighed and set his jaw, Caesar only chuckled at his frustration. The smaller man encouraged Joshua to take a joke, but Joshua wasn’t paying attention anymore. Then, Caesar heard it too. A faint whimper, almost inaudible against the sound of the waves on the blackened shore._

_“Shh...” Caesar commanded, gesturing downwards for all men to fall silent. The noise sounded again, closer now. An almost mournful wail._

_“Should we investigate, my lord?” Lucius asked, stepping forward. The cry faded once more, as Caesar still tried to pin point where the noise issued from. The primes slowly spread out, some heading in the west direction, others trudging through the salt ridden sludge. Joshua scoured the area too, surveying with his piercing blue eyes. Did they really have time be to chasing ghosts on the flats on the shores of the great salt lake?_

_Then, Caesar spotted something. Half buried in the mud and foam of the lake bed, misshapen and coated in sludge. He signalled Joshua over before Caesar himself approached. Upon getting closer, the shape was that of a wicker basket, a very water logged one. He reached out and slowly took the lid off._

_“Ah!”_

_All the men ran to where Joshua stood, though the legate did not share their surprise. Only did he raise a brow at the shorter man’s outburst. Caesar reached down, drenching his boots and trouser legs in salted, rancid water. Out of the basket, he produced an infant.  His legionaries gasped, even Joshua seemed slightly taken back. “Well what have we here?” Caesar gloated, holding the squawking baby at arms length. The blanket it was wrapped in was thoroughly soaked, the poor thing must’ve been chilled to the bone._

_“It looks pale," Joshua finally inputted. “...Is it male?”_

_“Yes," Caesar stated, bringing the baby closer in a cradle against his midriff. Miraculously, the baby instantly ceased its crying. Its big blue eyes peering up at the emperor who held him. Caesar smirked. “Do you think it’ll manage the journey?” he then asked, looking right to Joshua. After all, he had more experience with these sort of things._

_“If we keep him warm... And have one of the females feed him, he should survive. But it’s touch and g-“_

_“Then so be it!” Caesar interrupted, rising with the baby against his armour still. “He’ll be a fine addition to our Legion, don’t you agree Legate?” Say, isn’t there some old biblical tale about such a thing? A healthy baby found on the shores of the lake of death?”_

_Caesar paused for a moment, then turning his attention to the cooing baby in his arms._

_“..Lake of the dead. Dead. Dead Sea.” He clicked his free hand’s fingers. “That will be this one’s name!” He exclaimed._

_“You cannot be serious. ‘Dead Sea’ ?”_

_“This is a good omen, Joshua. I sense it. It’s a sign, a sign our Legion will flourish and grow! Now... Let’s take 'Dead Sea' to his new empire...”_

_He turned around, beginning to return back to where they had left the horses. But he stopped Joshua as the man followed by his side._

_“This baby didn’t come from nowhere. Find them. Find the people who left him ...And crush them. I want this child to have a clean slate,” Caesar hissed, before carrying on with baby Dead Sea gurgling delightfully with his new, doting parent._

_Joshua held an arm out as his remaining legionaries joined his side._

_“Keep going north. A family is missing their child, we should give them the good news...”_


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short and sweet.

Dead Sea blinked as Joshua finished his tale. He had no idea he was rescued, saved. Brought to safety by the kindness in Caesar’s heart. 

“I was all alone? Nobody was there at all?” Dead sea quizzed, pulling on Joshua’s undershirt insistently.

“You were alone," The adult stated. There was something about the way Joshua said this that puzzled young Dead Sea. He wasn’t looking the child in the eyes, gaze cast aside instead. Though he was too young to perceive as anything else than the sadness of his own story. 

Dead Sea blinked again, his head moving slightly as he wondered. Musing over the story. Then, his arms wrapped slowly around the legate’s midriff and squeezed tightly. Joshua said nothing, allowing the small child to hug him in silence. 

Seeing how far Dead Sea had come, from being a tiny, shivering baby plucked from the claws of death...

If it was the last thing he did, Joshua Graham would make sure Dead Sea reached adulthood and become what Caesar predicted him to be, a symbol of the legion’s greatness. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Title may change idk yet. 
> 
> Joshua doesnt seem too wild about Deadsy's question. Maybe the reason why will come around in the future :) ..  
> Anyway! Enjoy this series as I'm really enjoying writing it! Yes, this takes plave in the same 'universe' DVV takes place in.


End file.
